Neeraj Chopra seeks improvement

Neeraj Chopra took this struggling show in Ostrava as an indication that there's still room for improvement.

Aditya K Halder

New Delhi

September 12, 2018

UPDATED:
September 12, 2018 11:43 IST

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Neeraj Chopra won gold for India at the 2018 Asian Games (Reuters Photo)

Javelin star Neeraj Chopra went into the recently-concluded IAAF Continental Cup as the hot favourite to grab a medal among all Indian participants at the quadrennial event. However, the 20-year-old Asian Games gold medallist finished a disappointing sixth with a best throw of 80.24m.

Neeraj took this struggling show in Ostrava as an indication that there's still room for improvement.

"It was really disappointing to lose on a medal by a whisker. I had a throw beyond 85 metres but it went out of the sector. It is something I need to work on during the off-season. This is not the first time that my javelin landed close to the boundary of the sector and it only showed that I need to improve my technique," Neeraj told Mail Today on Tuesday.

It has indeed been a reoccurring pattern in Neeraj's throw where his throws tilt towards left. His 88.06m gold-winning throw in Jakarta to landed close to the boundary; so did his 85.73m throw at the Diamond League in Zurich, where he missed the bronze medal by just 0.4 metres.

The track and field athlete acknowledged the mistake he made in his throws and assessed that he needed to reduce the flight.

"I don't want to make any drastic change in my technique but my efforts will be to control the left tilts that are happening with my throws. We didn't get time to work on the throws after the Asian Games because of two back-to-back competitions. But there's no denying there is a flaw in my technique, I feel if I have to reduce the flight in my throw and keep it as straight as it is possible with same strength, then I can find much better result," said the national-record holder.

From quite early in his career, Neeraj has been a star who shines brightest at the biggest of stages. Throughout this year, the javelin thrower has maintained 80-85m throws at various events in Europe. And at the crucial events, the CWG gold medallist has churned out his best of performances. Asian Games, CWG, Doha Diamond League in Qatar & Zurich, have all seen 85-plus throws; enhancing his reputation as top-quality performer.

Neeraj credited the adrenaline rush he gets during big-ticket competition for the strong show, adding that he needs to showcase the best of his abilities continuously.

"I too have felt that my best throws have come at the event that has big athletes in it. At Asian Games too, I was made the youngest flag-bearer, that made me realise people are expecting gold from me. And probably that's how the 88m throw happened," he concluded.

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